Cautionary Statement
This publication contains certain forward-looking statements, including “forward-looking” statements made within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “could,” “may,” “would,” “should,” “intend,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “positioned,” “strategy,” “outlook,” “target” and similar expressions.
These include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, amongst other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries and markets in which the Group operates.
In particular, these forward-looking statements include, among other statements, statements regarding the Group’s: strategic aim to Build a Smokeless World, reduce the health impact of BAT's business and migrate adult smokers from cigarettes to Smokeless Products; ambition to have 50 million consumers of Smokeless Products by 2030; financial performance, in particular, its target to achieve (i) 50% Group revenue from Smokeless Products by 2035, (ii) its medium-term targets of 3-5% revenue growth and mid-single digit adjusted profit from operations growth (organic basis at constant rates) by 2026, (iii) a 90% operating cash conversion annually and (iv) its goal of deleveraging to the middle of the target corridor of 2-3x adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDA; ability to introduce new or advanced Smokeless Products that are appealing to consumers and that have a reduced-risk profile; acceptance by governments or other regulatory bodies and stakeholders of regulatory frameworks for Smokeless Products in their jurisdictions; changing public perception about nicotine, Smokeless Products and their health impacts; expectations and projections with respect to the future growth of the various Smokeless Products and the future development of tobacco use rates; ambitions to advance technological capabilities, in particular, in terms of underage access prevention; and expectations to continue its research on Tobacco Harm Reduction and Smokeless Products, specifically to help reduce disease-relevant harm from Smokeless Products.
All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. It is believed that the expectations reflected in this publication are reasonable but they may be affected by a wide range of variables that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated.
Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are uncertainties related to the following: the impact of competition from illicit trade; the impact of adverse domestic or international legislation and regulation; the inability to develop, commercialise and deliver the Group’s New Categories strategy; the impact of supply chain disruptions; adverse litigation and dispute outcomes and the effect of such outcomes on the Group’s financial condition; the impact of significant increases or structural changes in tobacco, nicotine and New Categories related taxes; translational and transactional foreign exchange rate exposure; changes or differences in domestic or international economic or political conditions; the ability to maintain credit ratings and to fund the business under the current capital structure; the impact of serious injury, illness or death in the workplace; adverse decisions by domestic or international regulatory bodies; changes in the market position, businesses, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of the Group; direct and indirect adverse impacts associated with climate change; direct and indirect adverse impacts associated with the move towards a circular economy; and cyber security caused by the heightened cyber-threat landscape, the increased digital interactions with consumers and changes to regulation.
Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in BAT's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2023 and Current Reports on Form 6-K, which may be obtained free of charge at the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov and the British American Tobacco website, http://www.bat.com.
Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this resource and the Group undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
No statement in this publication is intended to be a profit forecast and no statement in this resource should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of BAT for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per share of BAT.
